5 Easy Tricks to Face MDM Implementation Challenges

Since mobile devices have become an integral part of enterprises, more and more IT managers are suggesting the implementation of MDM solutions. Mobile Device Management (or MDM) are full-scale applications that are designed to manage a company's mobility requirements and protect sensitive information against data theft. However, implementing an MDM solution in an organization isn't as straightforward as it sounds.

Regardless of the MDM solution that you're planning to use, you'll most likely face a few challenges during the implementation process, especially if you want to configure the tool to stay in compliance with your company policies. In today's guide, we are going to discuss some of the most common MDM implementation challenges and how you can tackle them to get the best out of Mobile Device Management.

Part 1: 5 Mobile Data Management Challenges You Can't Ignore!

While each organization is likely to face different sets of challenges with MDM implementation, a few common hurdles stay the same in every case. So, instead of focusing on individual challenges for an organization, we'll focus on the universal problems and their respective solutions.

Challenge 1: Employees Bringing Their Own Devices

Instead of preferring company-owned devices, the majority of employees prefer working on their own devices, be it smartphones or laptops. This usually happens because they're already accustomed to using their personal devices and don't need time to get used to the interface. This means if your organization allows users to bring their own devices to the office, you can expect higher productivity.

But, with employees using their own devices, your company's sensitive information gets to a vulnerable state. For instance, third-party apps installed on the employee's smartphone could easily track your company's information and might even misuse it for personal benefit. Not to mention, if your employees use their personal devices for work, you'll need an MDM solution that supports an array of operating systems, considering all the employees will be using different mobile devices.

Challenge 2: User Experience

Another major MDM implementation challenge is ensuring that the user experience doesn't get damaged while defining configuration policies. The majority of IT managers have a habit of restricting employees from accessing too many device features.

Unfortunately, if you follow the same path, there's a huge probability that it might backfire and do more damage than any good. Of course, it's necessary to restrict a few features to ensure 100% work efficiency, but you'll have to consider different factors while deciding which device features the user must not access. The general thumb rule says that you should primarily focus on user experience because this will help you configure the devices in a better way.

Challenge 3: Policies to Tackle Lost/Stolen Devices

Like someone's personal mobile phone, even company-owned devices could go missing or get stolen. If this happens, then your organization's crucial data will become vulnerable to theft and hackers could access it anytime.

This is the reason why it's important for companies to implement dedicated policies for lost/stolen devices. Unfortunately, this isn't an easy job, especially if your MDM solution doesn't provide remote lock/wipe support for lost/stolen devices. Moreover, if your organization has different types of devices, it can become pretty challenging to track their real-time status. Basically, this is one of the MDM implementation challenges that mainly large organizations (with thousands of enrolled devices) encounter.

Challenge 4: Mobile Application Management

As of now, almost every Mobile Device Management solution allows IT Managers to remotely add or delete applications from the end devices. However, while trying to build a strong network pool for mobile devices, many IT managers forget to secure data against third-party apps.

This becomes even more challenging if you have implemented the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in your organization. As we mentioned earlier, third-party apps could easily access your company's sensitive data and misuse it easily, if you don't have strong policies for mobile application management.

Challenge 5: System Integration

Last, but certainly not least, enterprise system integration is another common challenge that many organizations (both startups and well-established brands) encounter with MDM implementation. Basically, the MDM tool that you want to use must offer synchronization support with the existing device infrastructure in your organization.

If this doesn't happen, all the mobile devices in your organization will have no practical use as it would become challenging to transfer data within the network. Moreover, with extensive system integration support, you'll only be able to manage the new enrolled mobile devices, which will reduce the overall work efficiency.

Part 2: The Go-Getter's Pointers to Face Mobile Data Management Challenges

Like every problem, even MDM implementation challenges can be resolved easily. All you need to do is follow the right implementation approach and configure MDM policies that cater to your business objectives. In saying that, here are some additional tips that'll help you resolve the above-mentioned implementation challenges for Mobile Device Management.

2.1 Create Separate Groups for BYOD Policies

If you have implemented BYOD policies, it would be better to choose an MDM solution that gives you the ability to create multiple device groups. With this feature, you'll be able to categorize all the devices into two separate groups, i.e. personal devices and company-owned mobile phones.

After creating separate device groups, you could easily assign separate configuration policies to ensure 100% security. For instance, you could restrict app permissions on the employees' personal devices to prevent third-party apps from accessing your company's data.

2.2 Think from Employee's Point-of-View

If you want to enhance the user experience on the end devices, it would be better to put yourself in the employee's shoes and think from their perspective. As a regular employee of the organization, what types of device features you'll need to access to perform the daily business operations.

Answering this question will make it much easier to identify what settings/features must be allowed on the end devices so that the employees don't face any issues with their devices at all. Of course, to make better decisions, you could involve other members of the IT management team or even take real-time feedback from the employees themselves.

2.3 Look for MDM Solutions that Support Remote Lock Feature for Lost/Stolen Devices

When a mobile device (that contains your company's valuable data) goes missing, it's only a matter of time before someone accesses the personal information and misuses it. To avoid this scenario, we recommend choosing MDM solutions that offer remote lock or remote wipe features.

This way even if the devices get stolen, you'll be able to remotely lock them and erase all the company data as well. But, keep in mind that if you use different types of mobile devices in your organization, it'll be crucial that your MDM solution supports the remote lock feature for all multiple Operating Systems (OSs).

2.4 Consider App-Level Protection

In 2021, a wide range of MDM solutions offers app-level protection to allow IT managers to protect the company's personal files from third-party apps. You can basically categorize apps as “authorized” and “unauthorized” and restrict irrelevant apps from accessing sensitive data. You can further improve the overall security by assigning different rules and policies for applications on the end devices.

2.5 Choose MDM Solutions that Offer Easy System Integration

Today, almost every MDM solution offers enterprise system integration so that managers could easily sync the existing company devices with the MDM solution. However, to make the best decision, it would be better to look for an MDM solution that offers a simple and straightforward system integration process. This way you won't need an expert team to integrate the existing hardware into the MDM solution. Your regular IT team will be able to manage the entire process on their own.

Part 3: Transfer Data Within Different Mobile Devices in Your Organization

You can use Wondershare MobileTrans, a professional data transfer tool that'll help you send files from one device to the other within your organization. The tool offers cross-platform compatibility, which means you'll be able to send data from Android to iOS and vice versa. This will protect you from the tedious process of using USB devices to perform data transfer.

Some of the additional features of Wondershare MobileTrans include:

1. Choose Specific Files for Data Transfer

Unlike other data transfer tools, Wondershare MobileTrans supports selective data transfer. This means if you only want to move contacts from one device to the other, you won't have to move all the other files as well. With MobileTrans, you'll be able to select specific files and send them to other devices with a single click. The tool supports the selective data transfer feature between cross-platform devices as well.

1. Transfer Whatsapp and Other Messaging Apps

If you're planning to replace the old mobile phones in your organization with new ones, it'll be crucial to first transfer all the Whatsapp data. Why? Because Whatsapp is the primary instant messaging app for many users, including the employees in your organization. So, to ensure that their Whatsapp chats for the business account don't go missing, you'll need to transfer the entire Whatsapp data from old devices to the brand-new mobile phones.

To do this, you can use Wondershare MobileTrans. The tool offers an exclusive Whatsapp Data Transfer feature that'll allow you to transfer Whatsapp chats between two devices easily. Even if you have multiple iOS devices, you won't need any iCloud or iTunes credentials to transfer Whatsapp data. Apart from Whatsapp, MobileTrans can also be used to transfer data from other messaging apps such as Kick and Line.

1. Backup and Restore

Another feature that makes Wondershare MobileTrans a great enterprise data transfer tool is “Backup and Restore”. To avoid data loss and create a central backup for all your company's data, Wondershare MobileTrans will allow you to create dedicated backups and save them locally on your computer. And, with the “Restore” feature, you'll be able to retrieve files from the backup on any other device you want.

Key Takeaways from This Episode

• MDM implementation challenges are real, regardless of the size of your organization and the MDM tool you're using.
• But, by following the right implementation approach, you can easily tackle these challenges and maintain the desired work efficiency.
• So, follow the above-mentioned MDM implementation rules and you won't have to deal with any issues whatsoever.

Unveiling iOS 17: Is iPhone X getting iOS 17?

Samsung S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: Who Will Win？

Galaxy S24 Charging Speed: Rumors and Expectations for 2024

Pixel 8 Pro vs S24 Ultra: The Android Flagship Battle in 2024

Axel Nash

staff Editor